A Royal Hangover

If you're anything like me then you've been surrounded by alcohol your whole life (if you're British, you most definitely have), and if you're anything like me, it's something you perhaps never really questioned; alcohol is life. From the wetting of the babies head, through the 18th birthday party, the wedding, all the way through to the funeral - these markers of life are punctuated with alcohol. We use it to celebrate, to lubricate us socially, to escape reality, literally any occasion is an excuse to drink. And A Royal Hangover underscores the 'why?' so brilliantly.

Far from being a mere exploration of the quite frankly over-used and sensationalist term 'binge- drinking', A Royal Hangover delves deep into the history of alcohol in the UK, and how politics, science, religion, education and parenting impact on our view of alcohol, portraying it as a drug. And a drug it is. The film really hit home how backwards our whole legal system is when it comes to drugs, and shows just how devastating alcohol can be through interviews with addicts (none more powerful that the filmmaker's heart-wrenching conversation with his uncle, whom consumes two bottles of whisky daily), and recovering addicts from all walks of life.

Something my girlfriend picked up on, is the fact that the filmmakers don't use the word 'alcoholic', instead opting for the term 'alcohol addict', which we thought was a very clever, subtle touch. The brilliant Professor Nutt was right in his critique that we 'constantly minimise our understanding of the harms of alcohol', and the word 'alcoholic' is just another small way of doing this - it's a euphemism, more in-line with the word 'chocoholic' than 'addiction'.

Regardless of your views of him, Russell Brand adds a nice star touch to the film, and is his usual witty, exuberant self. He does make some very good arguments here with regards to the UK's drug system, and also shares some personal anecdotes on his own experiences with alcohol, but the real stars here are the filmmakers, for standing up and giving us such a brave and brilliant portrait of a nation's obsession with alcohol, from their alien-like 'non-drinker' perspective, and of course the Director's uncle for allowing us a window into the mind of a man fully in the iron grasp of addiction.

A Royal Hangover is interchangeably witty and sad, and consistently entertaining, bold and informative. This film should be mandatory viewing. For everyone.

Thank you!

Caught this on Prime. Bit of an eye opener! Very well made. Recommend to anyone who knows an alcoholic, who drinks or who lives in the UK. Yes, Russell Brand is involved, but funnily he's the least interesting thing here.

This filmmaker sounds like an absolute hoot. (sarcasm). After watching this, the first thing I did was have a beer

First of all I just want to say wow! This film is awesome! The Royal Hangover fitted in so much into one enlightening documentary. It is hard hitting, truthful, funny, entertaining, insightful and a fascinating watch! Arthur Cauty has brought to light things that most people don't realize are connected to booze, such as the true financial, physical and psychological impacts that alcohol and alcoholism has.

There are several really interesting personal stories, and revealing negative experiences that are introduced to us. It also shows a broader picture of reality, by delving into and exploring how other people such as family members and health officials are also affected by alcohol, not just those that choose to drink.

If you choose not to drink alcohol watch this film, if you choose to drink alcohol watch this film. We all need to learn the truth.

Older documentaries that end will a hopeful montage + uplifting music are both darkly funny and super depressing, when you watch them later and know nothing much has changed.

And knowing this didn't really shift the culture is a bummer, because it's pretty decent... but then again, something like Bowling For Columbine was fantastic, but didn't change much in the actual US when it came to gun laws, so who knows...

I enjoy alcohol a lot, but am recently interested in documentaries and films on the subject because I'm constantly fearful of enjoying it too much. I know nobody expects to get addicted to anything, so if becoming an alcohol happens to others, it could happen to me.

This one is another I can add to my memory to tell me: "yeah, you might not be an actual alcoholic, but you should just be real conscious of what you drink, and maybe do it a little less." I could go on.... I haven't taken part in binge drinking much at all recently, but am finding more social occasions involve alcohol, as I've gotten older. Again, it's something I need to be mindful of, and documentaries like this one help in that regard.

Also Britain is far from the only place with an alcohol problem- Australia has many of the same problems, and a lot of teenagers get pretty into the stuff at a very young age here too...